The conceptual mapping of Maximus the Greek’s lexicon, carried out within the MaximHum project, highlights the author’s sophisticated linguistic awareness, as well as his ability to reconfigure lexical meaning in order to express complex conceptual structures and diverse cultural models. A particularly revealing case is the term сила (‘force’), which occurs in seven different syntagmatic constructions (сила елиньских рѣчеи, сила елиньскаго языка, сила разума стиховнаго, сила разума апостольскаго, сила звѣздная, сила звѣздонужная, сила звѣздодвижная). These expressions are central to two prominent discursive fields in Maximus the Greek’s corpus: metalinguistic reflection on translation and anti-astrological polemic. A close examination of the discursive contexts in which these constructions occur shows that сила functions as a flexible semantic operator, modulating its meaning according to diverse conceptual frameworks. In discussions of translation, it approaches the Latin vis verborum, referring to the intrinsic meaning of words in the source text—a key notion in Renaissance humanism, especially in the writings of Leonardo Bruni. In the anti-astrological domain, by contrast, сила conveys astral influence, aligning with the vernacular Italian terms virtù and potestà as found in the works of Girolamo Savonarola and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola.
La forza polisemica del lessico di Massimo il Greco: ricostruzione e analisi dei nuclei concettuali di sl.eccl. сила nell’ambito del progetto MaximHum
Beatrice Bindi
2026-01-01
Abstract
The conceptual mapping of Maximus the Greek’s lexicon, carried out within the MaximHum project, highlights the author’s sophisticated linguistic awareness, as well as his ability to reconfigure lexical meaning in order to express complex conceptual structures and diverse cultural models. A particularly revealing case is the term сила (‘force’), which occurs in seven different syntagmatic constructions (сила елиньских рѣчеи, сила елиньскаго языка, сила разума стиховнаго, сила разума апостольскаго, сила звѣздная, сила звѣздонужная, сила звѣздодвижная). These expressions are central to two prominent discursive fields in Maximus the Greek’s corpus: metalinguistic reflection on translation and anti-astrological polemic. A close examination of the discursive contexts in which these constructions occur shows that сила functions as a flexible semantic operator, modulating its meaning according to diverse conceptual frameworks. In discussions of translation, it approaches the Latin vis verborum, referring to the intrinsic meaning of words in the source text—a key notion in Renaissance humanism, especially in the writings of Leonardo Bruni. In the anti-astrological domain, by contrast, сила conveys astral influence, aligning with the vernacular Italian terms virtù and potestà as found in the works of Girolamo Savonarola and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
